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Manatee EDC to change name, ramp up job creation

Staff Report

Published: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 12:28 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 12:28 p.m.

MANATEE COUNTY - The Manatee Economic Development Corp., which earlier this year completed its move to independence from the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, is rebranding itself and a pushing a new outreach initiative to promote the Bradenton area and the county and to scoop up more jobs.

Launched at a gathering of 300 business and community leaders this week that also was attended by Florida Secretary of Commerce Gray Swoope, the new strategy "bolts on" to a multi-year plan created in 2009.

The major points include:

• Promoting the area's "place name" primarily as "Bradenton Area" and changing the EDC's name to "Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp.," echoing efforts already under way in tourism promotion.

• Identifying the community's brand through a logo featuring a stylized version of the Skyway Bridge and the words "Bradenton Area Economic Development."

• Providing a sophisticated, targeted approach to identifying and reaching those deciding about moving businesses. nIdentifying tools and tactics for delivering the message.

The EDC's name change would take place in early 2013.

The organization's efforts already have been paying dividends.

Last month, the EDC helped fill one of the largest empty manufacturing spaces in the region. JRL Enterprises Inc., a Cape Coral-based designer and maker of large molds for boats, amusement park rides and rockets, is buying the derelict Wellcraft Marine complex in Manatee. The company expects to create 80 jobs in the local market within the next three years and retain 120 workers in other parts of the state.

The Wellcraft property had been vacant since 2008 when Genmar Holdings shuttered a boat-building operation that had been a major Manatee employer for more than two decades.

JRL's move capped a string of Manatee economic development announcements so far this year that promise to bring at least 1,000 new jobs to the region.

The county's biggest prize was Feld Entertainment, owner of the Ringling Bros. circus, which is renovating a former Siemens plant for its worldwide production headquarters and global offices.

Sharon Hillstrom, the EDC's president and chief executive, acknowledged those wins but said her organization is working to speed up the process even more.

"While those results are encouraging, the outreach initiative is designed to accelerate the pace and effectiveness of our outreach to the experts who influence business location decisions," Hillstrom said.

Research showed that the name "Bradenton" showed stronger national recognition than "Manatee County." Hillstrom also noted that the Bradenton moniker was recently adopted for tourism marketing in the county.

"Consistency in the place name used for tourism and economic development outreach will allow both efforts to collaborate more effectively," Hillstrom said.

Places like Tampa, especially since the Republican National Convention, have been "very much on the radar of corporate relocation and site consultants" but Manatee County has been historically overlooked, said Ben Wright, chief executive of Atlas Advertising, which helped the EDC develop its strategy.

"Only a third of the consultants we interviewed were aware of Manatee County, compared to nearly two-thirds for some of the most competitive markets we have seen," Wright said.

Through the years, the "Bradenton" name has garnered cachet nationally as the spring training site of the Pittsburg Pirates and as the home of Tropicana Product Inc.'s largest plant and birthplace.

The EDC plans to launch a new website promoting the Bradenton area as a business location in the first quarter. The organization also will use a direct-marketing campaign targeting site-selection professionals, work with Bradenton area companies to cultivate leads, attend one industry-specific trade show and drive prospects to the new website through a social media campaign and ongoing media relations.

The strategy developed in 2009 has helped with 50 business relocations or expansions in Manatee, which could over time create or preserve more than 3,500 jobs and generate $1.7 billion in potential wages of direct and indirect jobs. Capital investment is projected at nearly $400 million during the same time frame.

So-called "value-added" companies are prized by economic developers because those firms make products here and bring new dollars in when they are sold in other parts of the country.

For every 100 "high-impact" jobs added through those types of companies, up to $11 million in local consumer spending is generated, research commissioned by the EDC shows.

"The ripple effect is substantial," Hillstrom said. "Local spending increases when high-impact jobs are created, which supports consumer-based businesses all year long."

<p><em>MANATEE COUNTY</em> - The Manatee Economic Development Corp., which earlier this year completed its move to independence from the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, is rebranding itself and a pushing a new outreach initiative to promote the Bradenton area and the county and to scoop up more jobs.</p><p>Launched at a gathering of 300 business and community leaders this week that also was attended by Florida Secretary of Commerce Gray Swoope, the new strategy "bolts on" to a multi-year plan created in 2009.</p><p>The major points include:</p><p>&bull; Promoting the area's "place name" primarily as "Bradenton Area" and changing the EDC's name to "Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp.," echoing efforts already under way in tourism promotion.</p><p>&bull; Identifying the community's brand through a logo featuring a stylized version of the Skyway Bridge and the words "Bradenton Area Economic Development."</p><p>&bull; Providing a sophisticated, targeted approach to identifying and reaching those deciding about moving businesses. nIdentifying tools and tactics for delivering the message.</p><p>The EDC's name change would take place in early 2013.</p><p>The organization's efforts already have been paying dividends.</p><p>Last month, the EDC helped fill one of the largest empty manufacturing spaces in the region. JRL Enterprises Inc., a Cape Coral-based designer and maker of large molds for boats, amusement park rides and rockets, is buying the derelict Wellcraft Marine complex in Manatee. The company expects to create 80 jobs in the local market within the next three years and retain 120 workers in other parts of the state.</p><p>The Wellcraft property had been vacant since 2008 when Genmar Holdings shuttered a boat-building operation that had been a major Manatee employer for more than two decades.</p><p>JRL's move capped a string of Manatee economic development announcements so far this year that promise to bring at least 1,000 new jobs to the region.</p><p>The county's biggest prize was Feld Entertainment, owner of the Ringling Bros. circus, which is renovating a former Siemens plant for its worldwide production headquarters and global offices.</p><p>Sharon Hillstrom, the EDC's president and chief executive, acknowledged those wins but said her organization is working to speed up the process even more.</p><p>"While those results are encouraging, the outreach initiative is designed to accelerate the pace and effectiveness of our outreach to the experts who influence business location decisions," Hillstrom said.</p><p>Research showed that the name "Bradenton" showed stronger national recognition than "Manatee County." Hillstrom also noted that the Bradenton moniker was recently adopted for tourism marketing in the county.</p><p>"Consistency in the place name used for tourism and economic development outreach will allow both efforts to collaborate more effectively," Hillstrom said.</p><p>Places like Tampa, especially since the Republican National Convention, have been "very much on the radar of corporate relocation and site consultants" but Manatee County has been historically overlooked, said Ben Wright, chief executive of Atlas Advertising, which helped the EDC develop its strategy.</p><p>"Only a third of the consultants we interviewed were aware of Manatee County, compared to nearly two-thirds for some of the most competitive markets we have seen," Wright said.</p><p>Through the years, the "Bradenton" name has garnered cachet nationally as the spring training site of the Pittsburg Pirates and as the home of Tropicana Product Inc.'s largest plant and birthplace.</p><p>The EDC plans to launch a new website promoting the Bradenton area as a business location in the first quarter. The organization also will use a direct-marketing campaign targeting site-selection professionals, work with Bradenton area companies to cultivate leads, attend one industry-specific trade show and drive prospects to the new website through a social media campaign and ongoing media relations.</p><p>The strategy developed in 2009 has helped with 50 business relocations or expansions in Manatee, which could over time create or preserve more than 3,500 jobs and generate $1.7 billion in potential wages of direct and indirect jobs. Capital investment is projected at nearly $400 million during the same time frame.</p><p>So-called "value-added" companies are prized by economic developers because those firms make products here and bring new dollars in when they are sold in other parts of the country.</p><p>For every 100 "high-impact" jobs added through those types of companies, up to $11 million in local consumer spending is generated, research commissioned by the EDC shows.</p><p>"The ripple effect is substantial," Hillstrom said. "Local spending increases when high-impact jobs are created, which supports consumer-based businesses all year long."</p>